Martin Mulyadi is a professor of accounting and Yunita Anwar is an assistant professor of accounting at Shenandoah University School of Business, Winchester, Virginia
A spate of audit failures has highlighted that traditional auditing approaches may no longer be fit for today’s financial world. But while research suggests artificial intelligence has the potential to significantly improve the efficiency and accuracy of auditing practices, without robust governance frameworks, proper training, ethical AI practices and human oversight, the technology also brings big risks for auditors.
AI has the potential to transform auditing practices in a way that is analogous to the impact of the birth of the digital spreadsheet. By automating calculations, that development in 1979 gave accountants more time for decision-making, changing their role in the business world.